Germany threatens retaliation if U.S. sanctions harm its firms

Germany
threatened on Friday to retaliate against the United States if new
sanctions on Russia being proposed by the U.S. Senate end up penalizing
German firms.The Senate
bill, approved on Thursday by a margin of 98-2, includes new sanctions
against Russia and Iran. Crucially, it foresees punitive measures
against entities that provide material support to Russia in building
energy export pipelines.Berlin
fears that could pave the way for fines against German and European
firms involved in Nord Stream 2, a project to build a pipeline carrying
Russian gas across the Baltic.Among
the European companies involved in the project are German oil and gas
group Wintershall, German energy trading firm Uniper, Royal Dutch Shell,
Austria’s OMV and France’s Engie.German
Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman described the Senate bill, which
must be approved by the House of Representatives and signed by President
Donald Trump before it becomes law, as "a peculiar move".He
said it was "strange" that sanctions intended to punish Russia for
alleged interference in the U.S. elections could also trigger penalties
against European companies."That must not happen," said the spokesman, Steffen Seibert.In
an interview with Reuters, German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries
said Berlin would have to think about counter-measures if Trump backed
the plan."If he does, we'll have to consider what we are going to do against it," Zypries said.The
sharp response from Berlin comes at a time of deep strains in the
transatlantic relationship due to shifts in U.S. policy and a more
confrontational rhetoric towards Europe under Trump.The
new U.S. president has lambasted European partners for not contributing
more to NATO, slammed Germany for running a large trade surplus with
the United States and broken with allies on climate change with his
decision to exit the landmark Paris agreement on combating greenhouse
gas emissions.Ironically, the
part of the Senate bill that targets Russia was introduced by some of
the president's top critics, including Republican hawk John McCain.They
are intent on limiting Trump's ability to forge warmer ties with
Russia, a key foreign policy pledge during his campaign for the
presidency, but one he has been unable to deliver on amid investigations
into alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. election.

DIALOGUE BREAKS DOWNUnder Trump's predecessor
Barack Obama, Washington and Europe coordinated closely as they ramped
up sanctions against Moscow for its 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea
region.But the dialogue has
broken down under Trump, who considered easing sanctions against Russia
when he first came into office, according to U.S. officials."I
regret that the joint approach of Europe and the United States on
Russia and sanctions has been undermined and abandoned in this way,"
Zypries told Reuters.France and the European Commission also urged the United States to coordinate with its partners on such matters.